Tourist arrivals dip in July

• Cumulative tourist arrivals for first seven months rose 3.6% to 1.2 m
• India tops arrivals by 4.8% trailed by China, the UK, Germany and France
• East Asia arrivals drops 3.8% to 41,264, while Chinese arrivals continue to dip in July to 7.1%
• Arrivals from Western Europe rose 3.9% to 80,896

By Charumini de Silva

Tourist arrivals dipped by 1.8% to 205,482 in July from a year earlier, with the number of Chinese visitors continuing to drop, Government data released yesterday showed.

However, cumulative arrivals of tourists for the first seven months of the year rose 3.6% to over 1.2 million (1,215,926) compared to 1.17 million during the same period last year, continuing the growth momentum established in 2010 as per data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) yesterday showed that

When totalling the arrival figures for the first five months of the year, Sri Lanka’s biggest market was neighbouring India, which recorded 201,900, trailed by China (163,189), the UK (119,475), Germany (78,466) and France (62,351).

Visitors from East Asia dropped 3.8% to 41,264, with Chinese tourists dropping 7.1% to 28,445, breaking off from a trend of double-digit growth seen in recent years. Tourists from China dropped 13.8% to 17,205 in June as well.

Arrivals from India, Sri Lanka’s largest tourist market, rose 4.8% to 29,006.

Tourists from Western Europe climbed 3.9% to 80,896. Arrivals from France rose 4% to 11,390 and the Netherlands 22.9% to 11,990. However, arrivals from the UK and Germany fell 1.6% to 23,553 and 1.2% to 10,835 respectively.  

Analysts said the slight decline in July is due to the off-peak season as well as due to the dengue epidemic prevailing in the country.

Tourism accounts for close to 5% of Sri Lanka’s economy. Tourist arrivals and revenue hit record highs in 2016, with annual arrivals jumping 14% to a record 2.05 million.